Probably for some, but today’s theme is certainly not a strong suit for me. I had to resort to online verification for two answers (15/21 and 29A) and outright cheating on another (12A), due to my musical ignorance.
Across
1 SHANTY – ant in shy
4 CONCERTO -(Brecon to C)* -B
9 AUBADE – Au +bade
10 MADRIGAL – (Adam + girl)*
12 RICERCAR – rice + R +car. I still don’t really have details, but it was primarily/exclusively(?) associated with keyboard instruments.
13 MINUET – min[-e] [-d]uet
15/21 SARABAND
16 TOCCATA – to + cc+ a + ta
25 LIEDER – lie + der. Germanic plural form of a stalwart answer.
26 NOCTURNE – Homophone of “knock tern”.
28 FANTASIA – double def’n
29 PAVANE – (a van) in PE (Peru)
30 SERENADE – (a nifty) hidden reversal.
31 CHORUS – CH + or US
Down
1 SEA GRASS – “thrift” being an example.
2 ALBACORE – (crab + aloe)*
3 TUDORS – (Stroud)*
5 OMAN – [-w]oman
6 CARDIGAN – double def’n
7 RAGOUT – homophone of “Ragu”
8 OF LATE – flat in O[undl]E
11 NABUCCO – (Cuban) rev + co
14 BISTROS – ST in biros
17 FOREWARN – (of warren)*
18 FAIR HAIR – The “show” is the degenerately raunchy (for it’s time) musical “Hair”.
19 IDLENESS – (Lied)* + ness
22 CLIFFS – Re “The Peter Pan of Pop”
23 TENNER – Homophone of “tenor”.
24 ATTACH – at + TA + Ch
27 BIRD – I’d have thought this offered more ambiguously cryptic opportunities for the choice of bird (e.g. chat, duck, rail). And does “at prison” =doing time?
Hi Smiffy
12a A ‘ricercar’ was a contrapuntal forerunner of the fugue and, later, a very elaborate form of fugue.
Smiffy
Minor point: TOCCATA is 20a, not 16a. I have that as MUSICAL.
5D Oman is a sultanate, not an emirate.